Here's How Ireland Got Into This Huge Mess With Anglo Irish Bank

Update: The Irish government has announced plans to split Anglo Irish Bank in two. Full details here >

We may only be a few hours away from an Irish government statement on Anglo Irish Bank that could decide the future of its position in the company.

It may not longer be worth it for Ireland to backstop the troubled bank as costs rise and impair the state's ability to escape economic recession.

But the story didn't start with Anglo Irish Bank. Ireland has gone through a housing bubble and credit boom, which resulted in a state bailout and now a bank that may be too big to bail for the tiny Irish state.